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All-Star Blitz
JOHN: "(insert names of the celebrities), all in the game that's just over their heads!" SINGING VOICES: "All-Star Blitz, All-Star Blitz, All-Star Blitz." JOHN: "And here's the master of the 'Blitz Board', Peter Marshall!" All-Star Blitz was a game show that aired on ABC in 1985. The show was a mixture of Hollywood Squares and Wheel of Fortune. Gameplay Main Game Two contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed to uncover and solve hidden word puzzles with the help of a four-celebrity panel. The puzzles, which varied in length from two to six words, were concealed behind a grid of six monitors above the panel, and a star was positioned at the corner of each monitor. There were 12 stars in all, arranged in four columns of three with one column above each celebrity's seat. Each monitor contained a portion of only one word, and the last word on the top row did not continue onto the bottom one. The object for the contestants was to light the stars around the monitors. To begin play, the home audience was shown how many words were in the puzzle and a certain number of stars (originally two, later four) were lit at random. The contestant in control, usually the challenger, chose a celebrity and a position (top, middle, bottom). The star in that position was lit, and Marshall then asked a question to the chosen celebrity. The contestant either had to correctly agree or disagree with the given answer, in much the same manner as Hollywood Squares and Battlestars. Choosing correctly allowed the contestant to keep control and pick again, but making a wrong decision passed control to the opposing player who could choose another star. Once all four stars around a monitor were lit, its part of the puzzle was uncovered and the contestant in control had the option to guess the puzzle or continue playing. An incorrect guess forfeited control to the opponent. Each part of the puzzle could only be uncovered with a correct agree/disagree choice, meaning that a celebrity could potentially have to answer multiple questions as control passed back and forth. Play continued on a puzzle until one player solved it or all six monitors were uncovered, with the player who uncovered the last monitor winning the game by default. The first contestant to solve two puzzles won the match and a prize package, and went on to play the Blitz Bonanza. Rather than featuring models, celebrity guests often modeled and demonstrated prizes while being described by the announcer, which would be preceded by a message on the game board monitors describing the prize(s). Each episode of All-Star Blitz was played to a time limit. If time was called during a puzzle, the contestant in control was given the option of whether or not to guess the puzzle. Choosing not to guess ended the game, and the solution to the puzzle was revealed. Guessing incorrectly gave the option to the opponent. Regardless of the decision and its outcome, play resumed on the next episode with either a new puzzle or the Blitz Bonanza as dictated by the rules. ASB 01.PNG|Hello, stars! ASB 02.PNG|It's a tie! Whoever solves the next puzzle will win. ASB 03.PNG|The phrase is four words long. To help you, we'll give you four stars for free. ASB 04.PNG|The gameplay is loosely based on the Dots format. ASB 05.PNG|A puzzle is completed! ASB 07.PNG|For solving the puzzle, you win a prize package. Blitz Bonanza (Bonus Round) In the Blitz Bonanza round, the champion was given one final puzzle to solve and was told how many words it contained (later, only the panel and the home audience were shown this information). In order to reveal the puzzle pieces, the champion had four chances to spin a large wheel which controlled the light borders on the game board's six spaces. As the wheel spun, the light would move from one space to the next. Once it stopped, the lit space would be revealed if it was still covered. However, if the light stopped on a space that had already been revealed, that spin was wasted. If fewer than four spaces were uncovered after the last spin, the champion was given the option to leave the board as it was or give up the prize package he/she had won in the main game in exchange for one more spin. He/she then had 10 seconds to think while the celebrities secretly wrote down their guesses. A correct guess by the champion won a cash jackpot that started at $10,000. Originally, this jackpot increased by $5,000 for each attempt it went unclaimed, to a maximum of $25,000. Later, it increased by $2,500 for each unsuccessful attempt and was capped at $20,000. If the champion was incorrect, he/she won $250 for each celebrity who guessed the puzzle correctly. Any champion who played the Blitz Bonanza four times retired undefeated. ASB 08.PNG|The start of the bonus round. ASB 09.PNG|Wheel...of...Blitz! ASB 10.PNG|The wheel randomly stopping on spaces. ASB 11.PNG|Those are all the reveals you get. What do you think it is? ASB 12.PNG|Bummer, this contestant didn't get it. ASB 13.PNG|"A Drum Roll" certainly could have been the right answer. ASB 14.PNG|"Aluminum Road Runner"... Probably not so much. ASB 15.PNG|This split screen shot didn't last long. ASB 16.jpg|But another contestant got this puzzle. ASB 17.jpg|WINNER! ASB 18.jpg|$12,500! More Pictures allstarblitz85ad102998.jpg Tickets Blitz (February 25, 1985).png|Possible Pilot; notice it's called "Blitz" instead of "All-Star Blitz". Blitz (February 26, 1985).png|Possible Pilot; notice it's called "Blitz" instead of "All-Star Blitz". All-Star Blitz (March 25, 1985).png All-Star Blitz (April 08, 1985).jpg 62722_622860254395422_335082257_n.jpg All-Star Blitz (November 18, 1985).jpg Music "Gabby's Theme" by Jonathan Segal and Score Productions The theme song to this show was infamous for its "tribal chanting" with "hobba hum hobba heeba hobba" along with the title of the show. Rating Studio ABC Television Center, Hollywood, CA Airing Status All episodes are presumed to exist. USA ran reruns of this series from March 31, 1986 to December 26, 1986. Trading Circuit At least 10 full and one partial episode, including the premiere and finale, are known to be circulating among traders. Trivia This show replaced the Mark Goodson quiz show Trivia Trap. In 1993, Merrill Heatter Productions produced a revival pilot called Hollywood Teasers with Robb Weller as the host. Future game show announcer Randy West was a contestant. All-Star Blitz is the first Merrill Heatter project to air on a network other than NBC since Hot Seat in 1976. The Show was intended for syndication by Telepictures as Hot Numbers, but it was retooled for ABC. The bonus round from the 2017 version of Hip Hop Squares called "3-in-a-Row" during the first season, plays similarly from the bonus round of this show, however, a spin on the board cannot land on a square occupied by a symbol. Link [http://wat.midco.net/jvipond/gameshow/AllStarBlitz.html James Vipond's All Star Blitz Page] Category:Puzzle Category:Celebrity Category:2 out of 3 match Category:ABC shows Category:Daytime shows Category:Network daytime shows Category:Network shows Category:Heatter-Quigley Productions Category:MGM Television Category:Short-Running Category:Flops Category:30 Minute Game Shows Category:1985 premieres Category:1985 endings